Container forming machine

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for fabricating cup-like containers from blanks of paperboard or other foldable sheet material, which containers are characterized by a bottom wall panel of polygonal shape and a side wall formed by two panels which are integrally hinged to oppositely disposed edges of the bottom wall panel so that they may be folded upwardly and the end portions connected by heat seals, the apparatus comprising a series of forming mandrels carried on an endless conveyor which is supported for movement in a horizontal plane with a run thereof advancing past a series of successive work stations at which folding and sealing operations are performed. At the first work station container forming blanks are fed, one by one, from a stack, and positioned on the successive mandrels, with the side wall panels of each blank being folded down about the side walls of the mandrel for engagement by clamp members which are associated with each mandrel. At subsequent stations ends of the side wall panels are heated to activate a seam forming adhesive thereon and seams are formed by folding shoes carried on swinging arms which fold the side wall panels against the mandrels to bring the ends thereof into seam forming relation. Thereafter bottom sealing tabs which are hinged to the bottom forming edges of the side walls are sealed onto the bottom wall panel by folding rollers, the clamps are withdrawn and each formed container is lifted from the mandrel and transferred to an edge wetting and rolling apparatus disposed at the end of the mandrel conveyor, which completes the container and discharges it from the machine.

United States Patent 1 Johnson et al.

[54] CONTAINER FORMING MACHINE [73] Assignee: Federal Paper Board Company, Inc.,

Montvale, NJ.

[22] Filed: Dec. 4, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 95,154

[52] US. Cl. ..93/44, 93/36 MM, 93/51 R, 93/59 ES, 93/59 MT {51] Int. Cl. ..B31b1/30, B3lb 1/06, B31b H62 [58] Field of Search.....93/36 M, 36 MM, 36.5 R, 44, 93/51M,53 M,59 ES, 59 MT [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,429,236 2/1969 Randles ..93/51 R 3,533,332 10/1970 Young ..'....93/36 R 3,513,757 5/1970 DiFrank....

3,583,295 6/1971 Elder 3,468,226 9/1969 England ..93/36.5 R 3,064,542 11/1962 Terry ....93/59 ES 3,511,139 5/1970 Edkvist ..93/5l R 3,550,509 12/1970 ,Mittermayer..." .....93/36 MM 3,593,623 7/1971 Oakley ..93/5l R 1,155,734 10/1915 Janisch ..93/36.5 R 2,234,108 3/1941 Carew ..93/51 M 2,872,855 2/1959 Fahrenkrug ..93/51 M Primary Examiner-Wayne A. Morse, Jr. Attorney-Guy A. Greenwalt, et al [45] ,Jan. 9, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for fabricating cup-like containers from blanks of paperboard or other foldable sheet material, which containers are characterized by a bottom wall panel of polygonal shape and a side wall formed by two panels which are integrally hinged to oppositely disposed edges of the bottom wall panel so that they may be folded upwardly and the end portions connected by heat seals, the apparatus comprising a series of forming mandrels carried on an endless conveyor which is supported for movement in a horizontal plane with a run thereof advancing past a series of successive work stations at which folding and sealing operations are performed. Atthe first work station container forming blanks are fed, one by one, from a stack, and positioned on the successive mandrels, with the side wall panels of each blank being folded down about the side walls of the mandrel for engagement by clamp members which are associated with each, mandrel. At subsequent stations ends of the side wall panels are heated to activate a seam forming adhesive thereon and seams are formed by folding shoes carried on swinging arms which fold the side wall panels against the mandrels to bring the ends thereof into seam forming relation. Thereafter bottom sealing tabs which are hinged to the bottom forming edges of the side walls are sealed onto the bottom wall panel by folding rollers, the clamps are withdrawn and each formed container is lifted from the mandrel and transferred to an edge wettmg and rolling apparatus disposed at the end of the mandrel conveyor, which completes the container and discharges it from the machine.

l4 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures PATENTEI] JAN 9 I973 SHEET 1 BF 6 mo 5: Q5;

PATENTEUJAN 9191s 3.709.114

SHEET 2 [IF 6 PATENTEDJAH 9l975 3.709.114

SHEET u UF 6 PATENTEDJAN ems 3 709 114 sum 6 OF 6 w LL "I. 1

"H11 ix-i1 II CONTAINER FORMING MACHINE This invention relates to apparatus for fabricating, from a blank of paper board or similar foldable sheet material, a container body, which has a bottom wall forming panel, with peripheral edges which extend on straight lines, and side wall panels which are integrally hinged along an edge portion to the'bottom wall panel and folded upwardly, enabling adjoining margins to be overlapped and connected in seam forming relation, thereby forming a cup-like container with side walls which have flat portions at the bottom and at least a portion of the top margins of round or curved contour.

In the manufacture of containers, formed from paper board or similar material, for the packaging of various products the general practice has been to design the container bodies so that the top and bottom portions are of corresponding contour. Recently a packaging container has been developed which employs a'single piece blank cut and scored to provide a bottom wall panel with side wall portions upstanding from hinge connections with bottom wall edges which are all in straight lines and having a top marginal contour which is round or at least in part defined by curved surfaces. A container or carton of this type having a rectangular or hexagonal bottom and a round or partially curved top side wall configuration is disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,381,877 granted May 7, 1968 to Edwin L. Arneson. Such a container has numerous advantages in handling and storage of certain products but it presents manufacturing problems since it is not readily fabricated in a satisfactory manner with the use of conventional equipment ordinarily available in container manufacturing plants. A machine has been designed for fabricating containers of this type which is disclosed in US. Pat.

No. 3,533,332, dated Oct. 13, 1970. While this machine has performed satisfactorily in fabricating containers of the type here involved it has been found that the apparatus is capable of further development. It is an object therefore of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for fabricating a container of the type which is formed from a single blank of paper board or the like with the side wall connected to the bottom wall along a series-of straight hinged lines and having at the top a circular or partially circular or round contour.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for fabricating containers of the type described which employs a series of forming mandre'ls mounted for movement on an endless conveyor past aseries of work stations where there is provided apparatus for placing and centering a blank on a mandrel having the desired shape of the container, folding the side walls down about the vertical walls of the man drel and into end overlapping seam forming engage-' ment, with the mandrels having associated side wall gripping members which are operative to hold the partially'folded blank on the mandrel while the side walls are folded about the same and while connecting tabs on the bottom edges of the side walls are folded at a subsequent work station into engagement with the bottom wall panel and sealed thereto, the partially fabricated container being then withdrawn from the mandrel and delivered to an apparatus for forming a bead on the top edge of the side wall to complete the container. I

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for setting up a container formed from a foldable sheet material, such as paperboard, which is characterized by a bottom wall having straight edges along the periphery thereof to which side wall portions are hinged in upstanding relation and forming at the top margin a circular or partially circular crosssection, which apparatus includes a series of forming mandrels carried on a horizontally disposed conveyor through a series of successive work areas, with the mandrels having a shape corresponding to the shape of the interior of the container when set up, and with each mandrel having an associated clamping mechanism for retaining thereon a container forming blank which is fed from a stack and positioned on the mandrel in proper location for folding down the side wall forming panels, and apparatus at subsequent work areas for wrapping the side wall panels about the mandrel and sealing overlapping end marginal portions thereof and for folding over and sealing onto the bottom wall panel hinged connecting tabs on the bottom edges of the side wall panels so as to complete the formation of the container which is thereafter removed from the mandrel and transferred to an edge curling apparatus at the end of the machine.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the container fabricating machine which is shown by way ofillustration in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. I is a schematic view illustrating the operations which are carried out on a paperboard blank which is cut and scored for fabrication into a cup-like container having a hexagonal bottom and an open top with a circular contour;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a container fabricating machine which embodies the invention, with portions thereof being broken away and parts thereof being omitted;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view at the entrance end of the machine showing the mechanisms for feeding the container blanks and placing them on the forming mandrels;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view showing a portion of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. Sis a partial cross section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2, which shows part of the apparatus at the first work station;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross section showing a portion of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 5 to a larger scale;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross section taken on the line 77 of FIG. 6;

' FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing-the operation of the heaters for activating an adhesive on the seam forming portions of the side wall forming panels;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary section to an enlarged scale, taken on the line 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary plan view showing the folders for wrapping the side wall panels about the mandrel;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the work station at which heaters are operative for activating the adhesive for sealing the connecting tabs at the bottom edges of the side wall panels against the bottom face of a container bottom wall panel;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of one of the heaters illustrated in FIG. 1 l;

FIG. 13 is a partial vertical cross section showing one of the devices for folding down one of the side wall connecting tabs onto the bottom face of the bottom wall forming panel;

FIG. 14 is a partial vertical cross section showing the apparatus for releasing a formed container from the mandrel clamp members;

FIG. 15 is a partial vertical cross section showing the apparatus for transferring a formed container from the mandrel on which it has been formed to an edge beading mechanism at the discharge end of the machine;

. and

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a single blank for the container which is adapted to be fabricated on the machine of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawingsthere is illustrated the successive operations carried out by the present machine (FIG. 2) in forming acontainer C from a cutand scored blank 3 of paperboard or other suitable material, the blank B being illustrated in FIG. 16. The blank B is cut from flexible paperboard of suitable gauge and thicknessand subdivided into a bottom wall forming central section or panel 12 and two side wall forming sections or panels 13 and 13', the latter being separated from the bottom wall panel 12 by score lines 14 and 14 which are parallel and extend along oppositely disposed edges of the hexagonal panel 12. The score lines 14 and 14' are of equal length and are centered relative to the longitudinal centerline of the blank with the length in the transverse'direction of the blank being approximately one-third the length of the bottom forming edges of the two side wall panels 13 and 13. The score lines 14 and 14 are extended at opposite ends of the latter and define hinge lines l5, l5 and 16, 16 for tabs 17, 17' and 18, l8'-which serve to connect the bottom edges of the end portions of the panels 13 and 13' to the bottom wall panel 12 in the set up form of the container. The side wall forming panels 13, 13' preferably are scored on upwardly bowed lines indicated at 19 to provide for uniform bending of the side wall material adjacent the bottom hinge lines 14, 15, I6 and 14', 15, 16 and to facilitate formation of the round configuration in the top portion of the container. The side wall portions of the finished container taper upwardly and outwardly.

In setting up the container C on the machine 10 which is illustrated in FIG. 2, successive blanks B are fed, one by one, into position over successive forming mandrels M, the bottom face of which is uppermost and has a shape which corresponds to the shape of the bottom forming panel 12. The containers are formed in inverted position on the mandrels M. The side wall formations of each mandrel M, which depend from the bottom of the mandrel, taper outwardly slightly and ex- I tend to the bottom face of the mandrel, as shown in FIG. 2, so that each blank B maybe formed into a container C about the mandrel M and may be readily removed therefrom in an upward direction when fabrication is completed. To provide for continuous operation a series of mandrels M are mounted on a power driven supporting conveyor which advances intermittently and the successive setting-up operations on the blank are accomplished at work stations along the path of travel of the mandrels, the work stations being indicated at D, E, F, G, H, I and J, and the mandrels M pausing at each station for the operation or operations at that station.

As shown in FIG. 1, the blank B is positioned on the bottom face of a mandrel M at the blank feeding station D which is at the entrance end of the machine. The blank B is properly centered on the bottom face of the mandrel M at station D and temporarily clamped in position while the side wall forming panels l3, 13' are folded downwardly about oppositely disposed portions of the side wall of the mandrel M after which marginal portions of the panels 13, 13' are clamped to the mandrel by laterally movable clamps. At the next station E heat is applied to the seam forming margins of the side wall forming panels 13, 13'v to activate an adhesive material'thereon and these side wall panels are folded or wrapped about the side wall portions of themandrel M to bring the panel margins into overlapping seam forming relation at the next station F. Atthe next station G heat is applied to the areas of the bottom wall panel 12 'onto which the connecting tabs 17, 18, l7, 18' are to be folded, to activate the adhesive. At the next station H the bottom connecting tabs 17, 18, 17', 18 are folded down into sealing engagement with the bottom wall panel 12'. The mandrel M is then advanced to station I where the container is released from the clamps which have held it on the mandrel for transfer to an edge coiling apparatus at the final work station I. The container is lifted vertically from the mandrel M at station .I and into the pocket of a transfer wheel which carries the container first to an edge wetting device and then to an edge rolling device after which it is discharged from the machine.

The blank B is preferably provided with an .overall surface coating of a suitable plastic material having heat sealing characteristics so as to enable the seams to be formed by application of heat and pressure. It may however be provided with heat activatable adhesive in the seam forming areas only.

The machine 10, as illustrated in FIG. 2, is designed to fabricate or set up containers C on two work lines, or production lines, along each of which there are work stations, with mechanisms for carrying out the operations illustrated in FIG. 1, the blanks being supported on mandrels M carried on parallel endless conveyors and being advanced, with an intermittent motion, from left to right, as viewed in FIG. 2, pausing for the operations at each station. Since the two lines are duplicates only one will be described, it being understood that a single machine may incorporate several sets of forming mandrels and associated apparatus withthe forming operations being carried out simultaneously in each of the duplicated lines of operation. The apparatus is supported on an upright base frame 20 which may house suitable power drive mechanisms for the various movable parts.

The mandrels M are mounted on'the top of a chain 21 which is supported for movement in a path which is in a horizontal plane with the inner run thereof held in a straight line by longitudinallyextending guide members 22 so as to be moved from one work station to the next. Each mandrel M is mounted as shown in FIG. 6 on a bracket 23 having a bottom face in which there is provided a downwardly opening guide recess 24 for seating the same on the guide rail forming top of the guide members 22. The chain 21 for supporting the mandrels M is mounted at each end of the machine on suitable sprockets carried on vertical shafts, one of which is driven by a suitablepower drive mechanism,

the chain supporting sprockets and drive mechanism not being shown.

The blanks B are supplied at the entrance end of the machine from a supply magazine 25. An apparatus is provided for feeding the blanks B one by one to the mandrels M as they are positioned at the first work station D, which apparatus is illustrated in FIG. 3. The stack of blanks B is supported in the magazine 25, which is inclined relative to the top of the base frame 20, with the bottom-most blank positioned so that it may be withdrawn and laid down on the mandrel M at the station D by the blank feeding mechanism 26. The mechanism 26 comprises a rectangular frame 27 mounted on a rock shaft 28 which extends transversely of the machine above the path of the mandrels M and which is oscillated by a suitable drive mechanism (not shown). The frame 27 carries at its free side a pivot shaft 30 on which there is mounted, in axially spaced relation, a pair of arms 31 carrying pairs of vacuum cups 32 for gripping the bottom-most face of the bottom blank B in the supply stack in the magazine 25. A movement control arm '33 extends radially from the pivot shaft 30 and carries at its free end a cam roller 34 which operates in a cam track 35 provided in a cam plate 36 which is supported on the base frame 20 of the machine in upstanding relation and in a longitudinal, vertical plane. The cam plate 36 provides a cam track 35 which is of generally triangular configuration, as shown in FIG. 3, so as to move the blank carrying arms 31 from the inclined position in FIG. 3, where the cups 32 engage in gripping relation a blank B, to a downward horizontal position, upon downward swinging of the frame 27 about the rock shaft 28, for deposit on the mandrel M. The blank B carried thereby is positioned on the top face of the mandrel M, which is in a horizontal plane, where it is clamped for release from the cups 32 upon reverse rotation of the frame 27, which, of course, returns the arms 31 to the blank pickup position for repeating the feeding cycle. The mandrels are indexed or advanced by operation of the chain 21 so as to stop the mandrel M at station D in a position for overfeeding of the blank B by the feeding device 26 and provision is made for accurately aligning or centering the blank B on the mandrel M so that the bottom forming panel 12 is positioned with its edges coinciding with the edges of the topmost face of the mandrel M.

The centering of the blank B is accomplished by a plunger 40 (FIG. 4) operated by air cylinder 41 which is adjustably mounted, by means of bracket 42, on a pivot rod or pin 43. Rod 43 extends above the support frame 20 from a fixed mounting bracket (not shown) at the side of the machine. The plunger 40 has a forked end 44 and is positioned so that when extended it will engage the forward edge of the blank B which has been deposited on the top face of the mandrel M and is still held by the suction cups 32. The plunger 40is extended in timed relation to the deposit of the blank B so as to push the blank rearwardly into centered position on the mandrel M, the suction cups32 being mounted on the arm 31 so that there is sufficient flexibility to permit the necessary rearward movement of the blank B on the top face of the mandrel M.

Upon the centering of the blank B on the mandrel M a combination clamping and folding assembly 46 is lowered onto the top face of the mandrel M so as to temporarily hold the blank B in proper position on the mandrel top surface and simultaneously fold downwardly the side wall forming panels l3, 13', as illustrated in FIG. 6. The clamping and folding assembly 46 comprises a block 47 mounted on the lower face or edge of a cross bar 48, which block 47 has a dimension transversely of the machine slightly greater than the corresponding dimension of the top face of the mandrel M. It carries at its end folder blades 49 and 49 which slant outwardly and extend downwardly in the direction of the mandrel M so as to engage panels 13, 13' and fold the same down along the oppositely disposed side wall portions of the mandrel M. The block 47 (FIG. 5) has a slidably mounted clamp rod 50 with a vacuum cup 50 on its bottom end which is downwardly-urged by spring 51 so as to engage the topmost face of the blank B and temporarily hold it in position on the mandrel M until the partially folded blank is clamped on the mandrel M by a pair of bottom clamp blocks 52, 52'. The clamp blocks 52, 52' (FIGS. 6 and 7) are mounted on support rods 53, 53' which are mounted in sliding relation in transversely extending parallel bores in the block 23 which mounts the mandrel M on the chain 21- and guide rails 22. Eachguide bore 54, 54' has a portion of enlarged diameter 55, 55 in which a compression spring 56, 56' is seated so as to urge the support bars 53, 53' in a direction to hold the curved faces 57, 57' of the clamp blocks 52, 52 against the confronting surfaces of the mandrel M. The support rods 53 and 53' extend through apertures 58, 58' in the oppositely disposed blocks for engagement by operating plungers 60 and 60' extending from air cylinders 61 and 61' which are positioned at work station D. The plungers 60 and 60' are operative to move the clamp blocks 52, 52' out of engagement with the mandrel surfaces against the force of the compression springs 56, 56' when extended. When the pistons 60, 60' are retracted the blocks 52, 52 will snap back into clamping engagement with the surface portions of the mandrel M. The clamp release cylinders 61, 61' are mounted at station D for opening the clamps 52, 52 to permit movement of the bottom margins of the blank side wall panels l3, 13' into position for clamping, as illustrated in FIG. 6.

The crossbar 48 which carries the temporary clamping assembly 46 is mounted, at its opposite ends, on vertical guide rods 62 which are supported for vertical sliding movement in guide blocks 63. An operating rod 64 is pivotally connected at 65 to cross bar 48 and guided in vertical movement by a guide block 66. A cam roller 67 is mounted on the lower end of rod 64 whichis operative in the cam track of a plate cam 68 on the driven cam shaft 70. The guide blocks 63 and 66 are of course supported in fixed position on the machine base frame. The control cam 68 is operated to reciprocate the cross bar and associated parts in a vertical path.

At the next station E hot air is directedby applicator devices and 75 onto the leading and trailing margins, respectively, of the side wall forming panels 13, 13. Each heated panel end is adapted to be overlapped with the marginal portions of the corresponding end of the opposite panel to form the side wall seams. The hot air applicators 75, 75 are of identical constriction and are mounted in an identical manner on opposite sides of the path of advance of the mandrels M at station E (FIGS. '8 and 9). Only one of these devices will be described in detail. The hot air device comprises a cylindrical tank 76 which is mounted by means of bracket 77 on an upstanding support arm 77 in proper position for directing hot air onto the side wall forming panel 13 of a blank B carried on mandrel M at station E. The tank 76 has a connection at 78 with an air supply line and electrical heater elements 79 (FIG. 12) are provided in the tank 76 for heating the air which passes through the tank. At the lower end of tank 76 there is a control valve box 80 beneath which there extends downwardly a nozzle forming pipe section 81 having axially spaced holes 82 for directing air onto panel 13 for activating an adhesive substance thereon. The nozzle pipe 81 extends from an opening 83 in the bottom wall of control box 80. A vent hole or opening 84 is provided in the adjoining side wall 86 and a valve forming plate 87 is provided which is mounted on a pivot shaft 88 for movement between a position where it closes the vent opening and opens hole 83 into nozzle 81 anda position where it closes hole 83 and opens vent hole 85 so as to cut off the flow of hot air through nozzle apertures 82. The pivot shaft 88 is journaled in the box walls 80 with one end extending to an outside position and carrying an operating arm 90, the free of which is pivoted to a relatively long piston arm 91 extending from an air cylinder 92 mounted on the outer surface of cylinder 76, so as to permit swinging movement of plate 87 between the two positions described, by operation of cylinder 92. The flow of hot air through the nozzle apertures 82 is continuous while the machine is in operation. When the machine is stopped the valve is operated to divert the hot air through vent hole 84 so as to prevent burning of the blank.

At station F the side wall forming panels 13, 13' are folded'in or wrapped around the side wall of the mandrel M by two pairs of side wall folding shoes 95, 96 and 97, 98 with the folding shoe 95 being disposed diametrically opposite the shoe 96 and the shoe 97 being disposed diametrically opposite the shoe 98. Since each of these folding shoes is constructed in the same manner and mounted for operation in like manner only one thereof will be described in detail. The shoe 95 has a face 100 for engaging the blank side wall panel 13 and wiping the same into engagement with the side wall of the mandrel M. The shoe 95 is carried on a vertical pivot 101 at the end of a pivotally mounted link bar 102. A cam arm 103 extends therefrom on which there is mounted a cam roller 104, the latter operating in a cam track 105 provided in a block 106 which is mounted on the base frame 20. The pivot 101 is on the end of the arm or link bar 102 which is pivoted at 107 on a fixed portion of the base frame and has its other end connected by a pivot 108 with an operating rod 110 which is connected to an operating piston (not shown). The piston operated arm 110 oscillates the arm .102 to move the folding block 95 between the two positions which are shown in FIG. 10. The blocks 97 and 98 are illustrated in the retracted position while the blocks 95 and 96 are shown at the end of their folding and clamping movement where they are holding or clamping oppositely disposed end portions of the panels 13 and 13 against the side wall of the which they are given a short movement along the surface of the mandrel side wall which imparts a wiping action and causes the panel ends 13 and 13 to lie snugly against the mandrel wall with a flange-like top surface of the base plate forming a guide for the lowermost edges of the panels 13 and 13 and with the panels drawn in tight engagement with the mandrel surface. The shoes 95 and 96 are operated first to foldthe opposite ends of the panels 13, and l3 after which the shoes 97 and 98 are operated to fold the opposite ends of the panels 13 and 13, thereby overlapping the margins at the free ends with the end margins of the first folded portion of the panels, so as to provide vertical seam formations.

At station G two vertically disposed hot air applicators 112 and 112 are mounted above the path of the mandrels M "for applying hot air to marginal areas in the container bottom forming panel onto which the tabs 17, 17 and 18, 18' are to be folded. The hot air applicators 112 and 112 are of the same construction as the previously described hot air applicators75 and 75' except for the nozzle portions at the bottom ends thereof, and the mounting thereof. The nozzles on the applicators 112, 112' are in the form of rectangular boxes 113 and 113 which are secured in communicating relation on the bottom faces of the valve boxes 114 and 114' with the lower faces thereof having discharge holes in pattern formations, as shown at 115 in FIG. 12, for directing hot air onto the marginal portions which constitute sealing areas at the leading and trailing edges of the container bottom wall panel 12. The nozzle forming boxes 113 and 113 are positioned a sufficient distance above the path of the mandrel M to clear the tabs 17, 17 and 18, 18 which are upstanding in the plane of the adjoining portions of the side wall panels 13 and 13'. The application of hot air to the panel 12 is controlled by air cylinders 116, 116 which operate plate valves in the valve boxes 114, .114 in the same manner as air cylinders 92, 92' on the applicators 75, 75'.

At work station H (FIG. 13) the bottom connecting tabs 17, 17 and 18, 18 are folded down onto the heat activated adhesive areas on the container bottom wall panel 12 bya plurality of folding rollers, one of'which is illustrated in FIG. 13 at 120. A like folding roller and associated operating parts are provided for folding down each of the tabs 17, 17 and 18, 18. Only one such assembly is illustrated in FIG. 13, it being understood that four such assemblies are'provided. The folding roller 120 is pivoted at 121 on a frame forming angular arm 122 having one end thereof connected by pivot 123 to a vertically disposed plate 124 and having the other arm thereof connected at its end by pivot 125 overhead frame assembly 133 which is upstanding from the base frame 20. The vertical plate 124 is of generally triangular shape and has a pivotal connection at 134 with the top of an operating rod 135. The vertical operating rod 135 is reciprocated in a vertical path by a cam plate 136 mounted on a cross cam shaft 137. The rod 135 carries a cam follower roller 138 at its lower end which operates in a cam track in the cam plate 136 to swing the vertical plate 124 about the pivot 130. The retracted position of the roller 120 is shown in solid line in FIG. 13 and the extended position is shown in phantom lines. The reciprocation of the rod 135 moves the roller 120 onto the top surface of the mandrel M and the air cylinder 127 is operated to swing the roller carrying arm 122 about the pivot 123 for the application of pressure as the roller 120 moves across the tab area so as to roll down into tight engagement on the panel 12 the connecting tab. The fabrication of the body of the container is completed at station H with the simultaneous rolling down of the bottom connecting flaps 17,17 and 18,18.

At the next station I the container is released from tight engagement on the mandrel M so that it may be removed at the last work station J for transfer to an edge curling or beading mechanism. Air cylinders 140, 140 are arranged at station 1 on opposite sides of the path of travel ofthe mandrels M which are of the same character as air cylinders 61, 61' at station D. The cylinder pistons 141 and 141 are disposed so as to engage the ends of the rods 53 and 53' which carry the clamp members 52 and 52', with the cylinders 140 and 140 being operative to momentarily release the clamps 52, 52' when a mandrel M is positioned at station I. In addition to the release of the clamps 52, 52', provision is made for simultaneously lifting the container so that the side wall will be freed from the clamps 52, 52' and the container can be removed from the mandrel M. To this end the mandrel M is provided with a vertical air passageway 142 which opens on the top face of the mandrel and which has a connection (not shown) with a compressed air source so as to project a blast of air against the bottom face of the panel 12. A suction cup 143 is mounted on the lower end of a vertically disposed rod 144 which is supported for vertical adjustment in a block 145 carried on a cross rod 146 extending above the path of the mandrels M and constituting a part of a vertically movable cross frame 147. The frame 147 includes a depending arm 148 which has a connection at its lower end with a suitable mechanism, indicated at 150, for imparting reciprocal motion to the frame 147. The frame 147 is reciprocated in a vertical path so as to cause the cup 143 to engage with the bottom container panel 12 and insure that the container is lifted a sufficient distance to pull it loose from the man'- drel M and to bring the bottom edges above the clamp members 52, 52 and avoid reclamping when the clamp blocks 52, 52 are snapped back into clamping position by the force of springs 56, 56'.

As the mandrel M is advanced to the next station J. The container is pulled free of the vacuum cup 143 and moved beneath a combination transfer and holder disc 152. The disc 152, which is in the form of a wheel, is mounted on the top of a driven vertical shaft 153. It is provided with circular apertures 154 which are circumferentially spaced and arranged so as to be aligned above the mandrel at station J where each successive container C is removed from the mandrel M on which it has been formed. At station J a vacuum cup 155 is mounted for vertical reciprocation on the bottom end of a vertically disposed rod 156 which is slidably mounted in a supporting frame 157 and reciprocated in a vertical path by an oscillating arm 158. The trahsfer disc 152 serves as a portion of an apparatus for curling the edge of the side wall of each container. This apparatus, which is mounted at the end of the work path, includes suitable edge wetting and curling or beading apparatus for operating on the side wall edge of the container while it is held in an aperture 154 in the transfer plate 152. The plate 152 is indexed finally to a position for discharge of the completed container into the discharge chute 160 by a mechanism not shown.

The machine 10 is provided with suitable power drive means for operating the various movable parts in proper timed relation to perform the successive operations required for forming blanks' B into containers C, which have been described in detail in connection with the foregoing description of the various parts of the machine.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for setting up a container bodyfrom a precut blank of paperboard or the like which container body comprises a bottom wall having a perimeter defined by straight lines and upturned side wall portions which are shaped at least in part at the top into a circular cross section, said apparatus comprising a plurality of mandrels having the shape desired for the interior of the set up container, a traveling conveyor for supporting said mandrels at a work station where successive mandrels are disposed, with the face uppermost which corresponds to the container bottom wall, for receiving a precut and precreased container forming blank on said face with the edges of a bottom wall forming panel portion of the blank aligned with the corresponding edges of the mandrel, means for feeding successive blanks from a stack thereof onto the successive mandrels, means for aligning each blank on the uppermost face of the associated mandrel, means for folding side wall forming panels of each blank down along the side wall of the associated mandrel and for clamping the blank to hold it on the mandrel, hot air means for activating a heat regenerative material in side wall seam forming areas so that seams will be formed when side wall forming panel portions are folded about and clamped against the mandrel side wall, mechanism for folding side wall forming panel portions of each blank about the side wall of the associated mandrel so as to bring adjoining ends of said panel portions into overlapping side wall seam forming relation, hot air means for activating a heat regenerative material on bottom seam forming areas of the bottom wall forming panel to which tabs for connecting the bottom wall panel and the side wall panel portions are to be secured, and means'for folding down into panel engagement said connecting tabs whereby the bottom wall is connected to the side wall around the entire periphery thereof.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for'aligning the blanks onto said mandrels comprises means for engaging each blank as it is deposited on the mandrel so as to bring the edges of the bottom wall forming panel into alignment with the corresponding edges of the uppermost face of the mandrel.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for folding said side wall forming panels down along the side wall of the mandrel and for clamping the blank on the mandrel comprises a reciprocably mounted folding head having spaced folder plates thereon and a resiliently mounted clamp member which is operative for engaging the bottom wall forming panel and temporarily clamping the same on the mandrel while the side wall forming panels are folded down.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein means is provided for holding the blank on the mandrel which comprises clamp members mounted on each said mandrel for movement laterally of the plane of the side wall of said mandrel and positioned to engage the margins of folded down side wall forming panels of the blank at opposite sides of the mandrel.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said clamp members are spring urged into normal engagement with said mandrel at the free edge of the side wall and means is provided to retract said clamp members as the side wall panels of the blank are folded down along the side wall of the mandrel so as to enable the clamp members to engage in clamping relation mar ginal portions thereof when said clamp members are released.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said clamp members are mounted on support rods which are slidable in guideways at the base of said mandrel and said means to retract said clamp members comprises pneumatic operated pistons positioned to engage said support rods on opposite sides of said mandrel.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for aligning the blanks on the mandrels comprises an arm member positioned at said work station for movement to and from the top forward edge of the mandrel so as to engage the forward edge of the blank and bring the same into alignment with the corresponding edge of the mandrel.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for feeding the blanks onto the mandrels comprises a magazine in which a stack of blanks is supported, a swingably mounted blank gripping frame having vacuum cups thereon which is mounted to swing between a position to grip the bottom face of the endmost blank in said stack and a position where the blank is laid down on the uppermost face ofa mandrel at said work station, means for swinging said frame in a path to position the blank with its forward edge in advance of the forward edge of the mandrel and said means for aligning the blanks on the mandrels comprises a pusher member at said work station and drive means operative to move said pusher member for engaging the forward edge of the blank and for moving the same backward relative to the mandrel to bring the forward edge of the blank into substantial alignment with the forward edge Q of the mandrel.

9. Apparatus for setting up a container body from a precut blank of paperboard or the like, which container body comprises a bottom wall having a straight edged perimeter and upturned side wall portions which are shaped at the top into a circular cross section, said ap paratus comprising a plurality of forming mandrels each having the shape of the interior of the set up container, a traveling conveyor having the mandrels mounted in spaced relation thereon for travel in a path along which there is a series of workstations, blank feeding means at said first work station for moving successive container forming blanks onto the top face of successive mandrels asthey are positioned at said first work station and associated means for centering a blank on each mandrel so that edges of the bottom wall forming panel of the blank are aligned with corresponding edges of the top face of the mandrel, a folding and clamping head reciprocably mounted for engaging the blank, said head having laterally spaced folder plates thereon for folding down the side wall forming panels into engagement with oppositely disposed side faces of the mandrel, horizontally disposed, reciprocably mounted clamp members on each mandrel for clamping marginal edge portions of the side wall panels against the mandrel so as to hold the blank on the mandrel during subsequent folding and sealing operations, means at subsequent work stations for folding the side wall forming panel portions of the blank about the side wall of the mandrel so as to bring adjoining ends of said panel portions into overlapping seam forming relation, hot air means for activating a heat regenerative material in the seam forming areas prior to the folding of said side wall forming panel portions, hot air means for activating a, heat regenerative material upon marginal portions of the bottom wall formingpanel which adjoin the hinge connection with the side wall forming panel portions, means for wiping connecting tabs which are hinged to side wall forming panel portions onto the bottom wall forming panel so as to connect the bottom edges of the side wall to the bottom wall around the entire periphery thereof, means for releasing the horizontally disposed clamping members which hold the blank on the mandrel and means for withdrawing the container thus formed and removing it from the mandrel.

10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein said means for centering the blank on the mandrel comprises a pneumatically operated piston member positioned for movement to and from the top forward edge of the mandrel when the latter is at the blank feeding station so as to engage the forward edge of the bottom wall forming panel and bring it into alignment with the corresponding edge of the mandrel.

11. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein said reciprocably mounted clamp members aremounted in oppositely disposed relation at the base of each mandrel and means is provided for normally urgingsaid clamp members into engagement with the opposed surfaces of said mandrel.

12. Apparatus as set forth in claim 11, wherein means is provided at said first work station for retracting said clamp members while the side wall forming panels of a blank are folded down into engagement with said mandrel so as to enable the clamp members to clamp marginal portions of the side wall forming panels against the mandrel when said clamp members are released by said retracting means.

13. An apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein said hot air means for activating the heat regenerative material in the seam'forming areas of said side wall forming panel portions comprises vertically disposed means forming hot air chambers, nozzles depending from said chamber forming means which are located to disposed means forming hot air chambers, nozzles depending from said chamber forming means and terminating in a series of downwardly opening discharge apertures arranged in a pattern covering the area of contact between a connecting tab and the bottom wall forming panel, a control valve for each nozzle, means for operating the control valves when the mandrel carrying conveyor is stopped so as to divert the hot air delivered by said chamber forming means from the blanks and avoid burning the blanks. 

1. Apparatus for setting up a container body from a precut blank of paperboard or the like which container body comprises a bottom wall having a perimeter defined by straight lines and upturned side wall portions which are shaped at least in part at the top into a circular cross section, said apparatus comprising a plurality of mandrels having the shape desired for the interior of the set up container, a traveling conveyor for supporting said mandrels at a work station where successive mandrels are disposed, with the face uppermost which corresponds to the container bottom wall, for receiving a precut and precreased container forming blank on said face with the edges of a bottom wall forming panel portion of the blank aligned with the corresponding edges of the mandrel, means for feeding successive blanks from a stack thereof onto the successive mandrels, means for aligning each blank on the uppermost face of the associated mandrel, means for folding side wall forming panels of each blank Down along the side wall of the associated mandrel and for clamping the blank to hold it on the mandrel, hot air means for activating a heat regenerative material in side wall seam forming areas so that seams will be formed when side wall forming panel portions are folded about and clamped against the mandrel side wall, mechanism for folding side wall forming panel portions of each blank about the side wall of the associated mandrel so as to bring adjoining ends of said panel portions into overlapping side wall seam forming relation, hot air means for activating a heat regenerative material on bottom seam forming areas of the bottom wall forming panel to which tabs for connecting the bottom wall panel and the side wall panel portions are to be secured, and means for folding down into panel engagement said connecting tabs whereby the bottom wall is connected to the side wall around the entire periphery thereof.
 2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for aligning the blanks onto said mandrels comprises means for engaging each blank as it is deposited on the mandrel so as to bring the edges of the bottom wall forming panel into alignment with the corresponding edges of the uppermost face of the mandrel.
 3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for folding said side wall forming panels down along the side wall of the mandrel and for clamping the blank on the mandrel comprises a reciprocably mounted folding head having spaced folder plates thereon and a resiliently mounted clamp member which is operative for engaging the bottom wall forming panel and temporarily clamping the same on the mandrel while the side wall forming panels are folded down.
 4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein means is provided for holding the blank on the mandrel which comprises clamp members mounted on each said mandrel for movement laterally of the plane of the side wall of said mandrel and positioned to engage the margins of folded down side wall forming panels of the blank at opposite sides of the mandrel.
 5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said clamp members are spring urged into normal engagement with said mandrel at the free edge of the side wall and means is provided to retract said clamp members as the side wall panels of the blank are folded down along the side wall of the mandrel so as to enable the clamp members to engage in clamping relation marginal portions thereof when said clamp members are released.
 6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said clamp members are mounted on support rods which are slidable in guideways at the base of said mandrel and said means to retract said clamp members comprises pneumatic operated pistons positioned to engage said support rods on opposite sides of said mandrel.
 7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for aligning the blanks on the mandrels comprises an arm member positioned at said work station for movement to and from the top forward edge of the mandrel so as to engage the forward edge of the blank and bring the same into alignment with the corresponding edge of the mandrel.
 8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for feeding the blanks onto the mandrels comprises a magazine in which a stack of blanks is supported, a swingably mounted blank gripping frame having vacuum cups thereon which is mounted to swing between a position to grip the bottom face of the endmost blank in said stack and a position where the blank is laid down on the uppermost face of a mandrel at said work station, means for swinging said frame in a path to position the blank with its forward edge in advance of the forward edge of the mandrel and said means for aligning the blanks on the mandrels comprises a pusher member at said work station and drive means operative to move said pusher member for engaging the forward edge of the blank and for moving the same backward relative to the mandrel to bring the forward edge of the blank into substantial alignment with the forward edge of the mandrel.
 9. Apparatus for setting up a container body from a precut blank of paperboard or the like, which container body comprises a bottom wall having a straight edged perimeter and upturned side wall portions which are shaped at the top into a circular cross section, said apparatus comprising a plurality of forming mandrels each having the shape of the interior of the set up container, a traveling conveyor having the mandrels mounted in spaced relation thereon for travel in a path along which there is a series of work stations, blank feeding means at said first work station for moving successive container forming blanks onto the top face of successive mandrels as they are positioned at said first work station and associated means for centering a blank on each mandrel so that edges of the bottom wall forming panel of the blank are aligned with corresponding edges of the top face of the mandrel, a folding and clamping head reciprocably mounted for engaging the blank, said head having laterally spaced folder plates thereon for folding down the side wall forming panels into engagement with oppositely disposed side faces of the mandrel, horizontally disposed, reciprocably mounted clamp members on each mandrel for clamping marginal edge portions of the side wall panels against the mandrel so as to hold the blank on the mandrel during subsequent folding and sealing operations, means at subsequent work stations for folding the side wall forming panel portions of the blank about the side wall of the mandrel so as to bring adjoining ends of said panel portions into overlapping seam forming relation, hot air means for activating a heat regenerative material in the seam forming areas prior to the folding of said side wall forming panel portions, hot air means for activating a heat regenerative material upon marginal portions of the bottom wall forming panel which adjoin the hinge connection with the side wall forming panel portions, means for wiping connecting tabs which are hinged to side wall forming panel portions onto the bottom wall forming panel so as to connect the bottom edges of the side wall to the bottom wall around the entire periphery thereof, means for releasing the horizontally disposed clamping members which hold the blank on the mandrel and means for withdrawing the container thus formed and removing it from the mandrel.
 10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein said means for centering the blank on the mandrel comprises a pneumatically operated piston member positioned for movement to and from the top forward edge of the mandrel when the latter is at the blank feeding station so as to engage the forward edge of the bottom wall forming panel and bring it into alignment with the corresponding edge of the mandrel.
 11. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein said reciprocably mounted clamp members are mounted in oppositely disposed relation at the base of each mandrel and means is provided for normally urging said clamp members into engagement with the opposed surfaces of said mandrel.
 12. Apparatus as set forth in claim 11, wherein means is provided at said first work station for retracting said clamp members while the side wall forming panels of a blank are folded down into engagement with said mandrel so as to enable the clamp members to clamp marginal portions of the side wall forming panels against the mandrel when said clamp members are released by said retracting means.
 13. An apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein said hot air means for activating the heat regenerative material in the seam forming areas of said side wall forming panel portions comprises vertically disposed means forming hot air chambers, nozzles depending from said chamber forming means which are located to direct hot air onto the seam forming areas of the side wall forming panel portions of a blank positioned on a mandrel at a work station, a control valve interposed between each nozzle and the chamber forming means, means for operating said valves when the mandrel carrying conveyor is stopped so as to direct the hot air away from the blank surfaces and avoid burning the blank.
 14. An apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein said means for activating the heat regenerative material on the bottom wall forming panel comprises vertically disposed means forming hot air chambers, nozzles depending from said chamber forming means and terminating in a series of downwardly opening discharge apertures arranged in a pattern covering the area of contact between a connecting tab and the bottom wall forming panel, a control valve for each nozzle, means for operating the control valves when the mandrel carrying conveyor is stopped so as to divert the hot air delivered by said chamber forming means from the blanks and avoid burning the blanks. 